


Whenever we pretend it's summer

by Hiraeth (Hiraethys)



Category: DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Superboy (Comics)
Genre: M/M, Nothing much happens, a lazy summer day, but the boys are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 03:39:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3675978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiraethys/pseuds/Hiraeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is baking hot and the sky overhead is cornflower blue, blue, blue, with not a cloud in sight. And the contrast between summers out here in the middle of nowhere Kansas, and summers among Gotham’s spindling heights is stark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whenever we pretend it's summer

It is baking hot and the sky overhead is cornflower blue, blue, blue, with not a cloud in sight. And the contrast between summers out here in the middle of nowhere Kansas, and summers among Gotham’s spindling heights is stark. Despite the heat though it’s nothing but pleasant, the sort of sunny day where you lift closed eyelids up to the sky to feel the warmth of it against your face. In Gotham the air is always humid and sticky, and there’s often the unpleasant smell off of the bay, cloying and rancid. This is far better, and it almost feels like a completely different season altogether.

Tim is not allowed out of the farmhouse until he has been lathered in several layers of fruit scented sun-cream and wearing one of Mrs Kent’s old straw sunhats, on insistence of the woman herself who tutts at his too pale skin, and makes noises about him needing a haircut. He makes his way across the dry crunchy gravel of the yard, kicking up dust with his sneakers. Krypto is lounging in the shade given off by the barn, head in his paws, sparing Tim only a brief disinterested glance as he passes by.

Tim’s left arm is in a sling and cast, and it’s itchy and sweaty, but it’s healing. Officially Tim Drake-Wayne tripped over his younger brother’s dog and fell down a flight of stairs; In reality Red Robin got himself forcibly restrained by a rather heavy thug in metal soled boots. Either way Dick suggested he take a break (pun fully intended thank you _Dick_ ) and Kon had been ribbing him about not spending any time with him, so a fortnight at the farm seemed like a good trade off. Two days in though and he’d barely seen his boyfriend at all, between school (where Kon was repeating the year that he’d spent ‘dead’) and Kara calling in for some backup.

His plan was to head over to the shade under the old oak tree and go over some of the case files that he’d brought with him, while he waited out the time until Smallville High was out for the day. The leaves of the tree created a dappled light, and the grass was still somewhat damp in the shade. Tim settled with his back against the trunk and tried to ignore where roots dug uncomfortably into his ass. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed once he got engrossed in the reports, but an annoyed harrumph nearby startled him out of the zone he’d entered. Looking up he found Kon gazing down at him with a wry twist to his mouth, still wearing the glasses he’d had to wear to school.

“What part of vacation don’t you understand dude?” he asked “The part where you’re not supposed to be doing work, or the part where you’re supposed to be having fun? I mean admittedly the two do correlate…” He dropped his schoolbag and ducked down to sit next to Tim on the ground. “Ugh the grass is damp” he moaned squirming a little.

“Who says this isn’t my idea of fun?” Tim asks, but there’s a twitch to his mouth that lets Kon know he’s messing with him.

“I’d actually believe that of you Bats” Kon answered, and leaned in to kiss the twitch feeling it grow into a smile beneath his lips.

“I mean normally I prefer to do this hanging upside down in a cave” Tim snarks, but he puts the file he was still holding down, to play complete attention to Kon.

“Sorry to break it to you dude, but you’re not even half as funny as you think you are”

Tim snorts, but leans up to kiss Kon instead of replying, it’s a bit awkward with the cast in the way, but they make do; Tim’s free hand sliding into Kon’s short hair and Kon’s hand cupping the back of his neck.

It had been an awkward but easy transition from friends to boyfriends, easy because over the years they’d grown so close that it was almost a seamless step from there, awkward because both of them were freaking out over potentially fucking everything up. Apparently the Titans had had a betting pool in place over when they’d finally get it over with and get together, apparently Cassie had won.

They pull apart after an interminable amount of time and Kon scrambles back to his feet offering Tim a hand.

“C’mon” He says. “Ma’s been baking pie, I could smell it from school” From most anyone else that would be an exaggeration Tim thought, but he knew Kon was being literal.

“What type?” He asks taking the proffered hand, as Kon hauls him easily to his feet.

“Rhubarb”

Tim hums in response, and they gather up his stuff and Kon’s bag, and then head together back across the yard and up the steps to the porch, footsteps causing the old wood to creak and announce their approach.

***

There was a ‘no powers’ rule in the Kent’s farmhouse, had been since Clark was a kid, and Kon never begrudged it more than when it was his turn to wash the dishes. He was scrubbing at a stubborn chunk of pastry that seemed to have become one with the tin it was baked in, as Tim and Ma chatted in the living room. Looking over his shoulder he could just see Tim through the doorway, perching on the arm of the sofa like a bird.

Kon laughed a little under his breath at the comparison. Tim nearly always perched rather than sitting like a normal human being, maybe it was the ‘Bat’ reflex to always be ready for action, or maybe it was just an intrinsically Tim thing with no explanation. He perched on the edge of his seat during Titan’s meetings, he perched on the edges of rooftops when he was patrolling, and he perched on the expensive granite counter-tops in his apartment while he drank his morning coffee.

With one last less than gentle scrub, the pastry finally gave way and once he finishes drying he heads into the living room to join them. He sprawls on the couch, and pulls Tim from his perch and into his lap, causing Tim to let out an undignified squawk. He catches Martha’s smile out of the corner of his eye.

“What are you two boys planning to do tomorrow?” She asks, bending to pick one of Kon’s ‘S’ shirts from the sewing basket at her feet. Tomorrow is a Saturday so school isn’t going to be a problem, and they’d both already let Cassie know they wouldn’t be by the tower.

“I was thinking” Kon begins, and Tim swivels to look at him “That we could go to the beach or something” And he shrugs nonchalantly as if it was a passing thought and not part of a well thought out plan.

Martha hums in agreement of his plan, as if the nearest coast weren’t over eight hundred and fifty miles away, as she begins to darn the rip in his shirt from that killer robot last week. Tim gives him a calculated look though, and Kon should know he could never put anything past him. He gives Tim a look back that he hopes conveys they’ll talk about it later, and obviously succeeds because Tim turns back around and makes himself comfortable in his lap.

“That sounds good” Tim says, before Ma chips in with

“Make sure you take plenty of sun lotion, you have such fair skin Tim dear”

Tim grumbles, and Kon smiles glad that Tim can’t see him do so.

***

“The beach?” Tim asks later that night, perching on the edge of Kon’s bed, sleeping bag on the floor ignored as it had been the last two nights. Kon’s room is a mess that can only be conttributed to the fact that it houses a teenage boy, but it is still tidier than Tim’s own now that he no longer lives with Alfred who’d nag at him about it.

Kon rubs the back of his neck and lets out a gust of air, “I was thinking we could go to Hawaii” he says shrugging his shoulders. “It’s… been a long time since I was last there, and well… it was home for a while” he catches Tim’s gaze and smiles sheepishly.

“And you’ll be my island tour guide?” Tim asks with that crooked grin of his, that Kon can’t help but lean in to kiss.

“Something like that” He says with a grin of his own “I miss it sometimes, Kansas is fine but I do miss the sea, San Fransisco isn’t quite the same”

Tim hums. “It’s a good idea” he says.

“Don’t sound so surprised Rob” Kon teases. Thinking of the days back in Young Justice where a compliment from Tim was as rare as a four leaf clover.

“I suppose it was bound to happen eventually SB” Tim shoots back. And it’s easy this back and forth they have, as easy as breathing.

“Shh, Stop sassing me.”


End file.
